| [ EnglishOnly ] in KIDS 글 쓴 이(By): Kook ( 혁 명) 날 짜 (Date): 1995년10월24일(화) 13시43분14초 KST 제 목(Title): A spy amongst us? North Korean spies? If one knew how the Korean society operates, he or she would find it quite difficult to believe that North Korean spies abound among us. Everywhere there are checkpoints, bodily searches without warrant is still common, and moving around it itself without proper ID is almost impossible: it is required by law that you carry 주민등록증 anywhere you go. Under these conditions, straightforward infiltration and subversion by a North Korean spy is next to impossible. (Although they probably have other ways to gather information as we certainly do.) A foreigner who does not understand our society could be easily fooled by the posters put up by the government that North Korean spies are around every corner. The posters asking citizens to report any spies are of more ideological than practical purpose. They are there to remind to the people that North Korea is still a threat and that the state intelligence apparatus is still necessary. If one knew, as most Koreans do, what the state intelligence have done to oppress the democracy throughout our modern history, he could easily see why the state intelligece agency would need such a lame public relations effort. Of course the North Koreans are gathering intelligence about us. We are doing the same. The U.S. does the same (even in so called friendly countries like France and Korea.) But North Korean spies running around in our society? That is a farce. |